Hodgson forced to cancel planned dinner date with England players

ENGLAND boss Roy Hodgson was last night forced to cancel a dinner meeting with his players after various Premier League clubs objected to the concept due to busy fixture schedules.

Hodgson had planned to organize a get-together at the end of the month to conduct a tactical review of November’s 3-1 friendly win over Scotland, although the Football Association have confirmed that the meeting will not take place.

Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho was said to be unwilling to release Gary Cahill if the gathering was to be held on 29 January, two days after their Capital One Cup semifinal with Liverpool and two days before a Premier League clash with Manchester City.

The Stamford Bridge club were not the sole dissenters, however, in preferring their players not to travel to St George’s Park, despite assurances from Hodgson that their presence would only be required for a few hours.

With all parties unable to agree on a suitable date, Hodgson will have to wait a further two months before seeing his squad ahead of England’s Euro2016 qualifier with Lithuania on 27 March.